In this poem from Chapter 47 of the Mokhtar Nameh, Attar of Nishapur employs the metaphor of the candle to explain how the physical world or the human soul acts as a vehicle for divine, unseen forces.

Key Themes:

• Learning Extinction and Burning: Lighting the candle is not an end in itself but a means to teach it how to burn and be extinguished, symbolizing the spiritual journey of self-effacement (fana).
• The Fire of the Unseen (Atash-e Gheyb): The immense, transcendent divine fire of the unseen requires a physical medium—symbolized by the candle—to be manifested and constantly burn in the material realm.